No U-turn

What it means

This sign bans U-turns at the location it controls, typically mid-block on a busy multi-lane road, near a crest or curve where sight distance is short, or at intersections where the manoeuvre cannot be made without crossing several lanes of conflicting traffic. A U-turn is one of the slowest and most exposed movements a car makes, so the sign removes it where completing it would block or endanger the normal flow. The prohibition applies to the whole intersection or marked stretch, not just the exact spot where the sign stands.

How it gets misread

A frequent misread is that the ban stops at the next driveway, or that a three-point turn is a different movement and therefore allowed. Another is treating it as applying only to cars, as if longer vehicles were the intended target. The ban covers any reversal of direction at that place.

What to do

Continue past this point and reverse direction where U-turns are permitted, such as a dedicated median opening, a roundabout where signs allow it, or a series of right turns around the block. Choose a place with full sight lines in both directions and never attempt the reversal on a curve or over a crest, even where no sign prohibits it.

More regulatory signs

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• One way →

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